The tech and innovation scene in Kenya got a major boost last week with the opening of the Africa Development Centre offices at Dunhill Towers Westlands. The unveiling of this office is a reassuring demonstration of Microsoft’s commitment to grow the tech and engineering space not only in Kenya but in the continent as well. The ADC has successfully operated in the country for the last three years and finally has a home from which to further its programs. I was privileged to bear witness to the unveiling of the new ultra-modern state-of-the-art facility, the first of its kind serving the East African region. The hub will go a long way in strengthening the country’s position as a leading regional digital innovation hub.
The facility will house the engineering, design, research, and innovation teams, as well as the Microsoft Garage, an incubation hub launched as part of the ongoing efforts to scale tech innovation in the continent. The facility was officially launched by H.E the president Uhuru Kenyatta, who was accompanied by Joe Mucheru, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affair among other key guests.
Since its inception in Nairobi in 2019, the ADC has grown to over 450 full-time employees working in areas such as software engineering, machine learning, data science, market research, infrastructure, and much more. The unveiling and purpose of the hub is in light with Vision 2030 that recognizes the role of science, technology and innovation in a modern economy.
The ADC Managing Director, Jack Ngare said that the center is proud of its achievements in developing this facility. Some of their proudest moments are during the construction phase when they hired over 100 builders, artisans, architects, artists, craftsmen, women groups, and other skilled and unskilled workers, all during the height of the COVID pandemic. In addition, most of the construction materials were locally sourced thus ploughing back into the economy. This creation of employment is a great way to involve and empower comminutes.
The facility was built in a similar style to Microsoft’s global offices to optimize space utilization, air conditioning, and lighting adjustments as part of Microsoft’s global ambition to be net carbon negative by 2030. There will also be self-heating windows, a mini solar plant to power the facility, and a water treatment facility to recycle and purify the water, which are not yet available in other Microsoft offices but are available at the new ADC facility.
The Garage which is housed in the new offices will help Microsoft employees, customers and developers tap into their creative prowess to come up with cutting edge technologies that will solve the problems we have in the world today. I can’t wait to see the next big thing coming out of Africa.’’
The Garage is structured as a freeform workspace where Microsoft employees, interns, schools, and community groups can find the tools and training they need to launch products and learn skills. “The Garage is meant to spread the values of openness and collaboration throughout the Microsoft ADC, where people come to The Garage to work with interdisciplinary teams on passion projects that sometimes make their way into Microsoft products – this should ultimately allow Microsoft ADC to become a more prominent shaper of Africa’s tech culture,” Karanja explained.
Projects born out of Garages around the world include an app that uses artificial intelligence to narrate what a smartphone camera is seeing to visually impaired users. Another project used AI to build a platform hospitals and doctors can use to communicate with patients, including automated symptom checkers and health plan information. The Garage has locations in Boston, Vancouver, Israel, India, and China.